The fine line between pleasure and pain,,,

[Lothene]

Most of us have heard that the occupation with the highest suicide rates is dentistry, supposedly because inflicting pain on other people leads to psychological unrest. So where does this leave a fighter?

It has been my personal belief that fighting is one of the most natural acts a human can undertake - there can be no life without violence; even childbirth is violent, and inter-personal violence, for better or for worse, can certainly be looked at as one of the hallmarks of civilization - though it has been happening much longer of course. I interpret fighting is an intrinsic part of being human, and a connection with our ancestors, however I was curious to find out whether, if pulling the teeth of another human can scar one psychologically, how does injuring another person for sport play out in the psyche?

After a little bit of searching, it turns out that the dentistry/suicide theory is actually an urban myth triggered by a 1933 study.

If you're interested in reading a little about it, there are some links here:
http://www.suicidereferencelibrary.c...t4~id~1368.php
http://www.apa.org/monitor/jan01/suicide.html
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msuicide.html
http://www.dentalcomfortzone.com/arc...itSuicide.html

With that said, however, I'd love to hear some of your opinions on the subject.

[BackFistMonkey]

Talk to some BDSM'ers .

[Darkpaladin]

I was hoping this thread would go in a completely different direction when I read the title...

schucks...

I wonder if there is a high suicide rate for IRS agents. Those guys cause more pain than any fighter on a daily basis.

[Cassius]

I think it'd be pretty hard to generalize suicide rates, since they vary so much from country to country.

I've read that Japan has an extremely high suicide rate for a developed country, but there are cultural traditions that sort of explain that.

I just remembered that I have an asian woman in a wedding dress pretending to commit suicide with a huge gun as my avatar. How fitting.

[Leonidas]

yeah, but the japanese invented suicide. the ninja specifically, it was totally on some guys website. He said they do it when they got no one else to kill, so it must be true.

Fighters wouldnt be commiting suicide, I reckon they don't pay too much mind to the fact that theyre actually 'injuring' someone. I know Mike Tyson probably doesnt lose any sleep over bighting someones ear off.

[Cassius]

yeah, but the japanese invented suicide. the ninja specifically, it was totally on some guys website. He said they do it when they got no one else to kill, so it must be true.

Fighters wouldnt be commiting suicide, I reckon they don't pay too much mind to the fact that theyre actually 'injuring' someone. I know Mike Tyson probably doesnt lose any sleep over bighting someones ear off.

I think there is a mental separation between "beating the crap out of someone who is fighting back in a controlled atmosphere" and "inflicting injury maliciously."

[Leonidas]

Not if mikes in the ring :P

[Cassius]

Not if mikes in the ring :P

I think FOR SANE PEOPLE AT LEAST, that there is a mental separation between "beating the crap out of someone who is fighting back in a controlled atmosphere" and "inflicting injury maliciously."

Better?

[Honor]

That's why you instill the use of a safe word. I typically go with "furbegngfuguygen"

[Feryk]

Violence predates humanity. It's a part of life. A 'ring fighter' has sublimated his own violent tendencies into a socially acceptable outlet, thereby giving him the release he needs, without the nasty side effects (like jail, murder, etc.). If anything, he's probably more well adjusted than most.

Except for WCL, of course.